


Too Little, Too Late

by matters17793



Series: Harry and Colin's Obsession [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Break Up, Feelings Realization, Fights, Heartbreak, LGBTQ, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Rejection, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:01:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24575722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matters17793/pseuds/matters17793
Summary: Harry finally knows how he feels about Colin, but there's a problem.Told from Harry's POV.This will cover topics such asmental health,abusive relationships,self harmandsuicide. If this makes you uncomfortable then please don't read this book. I will put a warning at the beginning of each chapter that contains it.THIS WORK IS COMPLETE.
Relationships: Colin Creevey & Dennis Creevey & Harry Potter, Colin Creevey & Harry Potter, Colin Creevey/Cedric Diggory, Colin Creevey/Dennis Creevey/Harry Potter, Colin Creevey/Harry Potter, Dennis Creevey & Harry Potter, Dennis Creevey/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley
Series: Harry and Colin's Obsession [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719412
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. How Could I Be So Stupid?

**Author's Note:**

> This work is going to be much darker than anything I've done before.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry discovers that there is one big problem standing between him and Colin.

How could I have been so stupid? As I looked over to see Colin and Cedric together, my heart sank. I knew how Colin had felt about me, and I never even got to tell him how I felt. I had been so nervous that whenever I tried to think about my feelings, I pushed them to the back of my mind.

Looking at Colin's amazing eyes, and his blond hair made me feel sad, as I had the chance to be with him but didn't take it. My world was crumbling around me; my friendships were becoming more and more strained, and I had nowhere to turn.

I couldn't witness this anymore, I had to go and say something to Colin. I didn't care about consequences, nor did I appreciate the fact that Cedric was standing in the way of me being with Colin. I marched over to them, with my heart beating loudly.

"Harry?" Colin opened.

"I hate this" I commented.

"What?" Cedric interjected.

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you" I spluttered.

"Hey, calm down" Colin instructed.

"I will not calm down!" I insisted "You are rubbing this in my face, and I hate it!"

I could feel the anger growing inside me, as Colin was able to keep his cool. Cedric looked at me in confusion, but I avoided eye contact with him. He was a great annoyance in my plans to be with Colin, which were now non existant.

"What is going on?" Colin posed "Just tell me"

"I like you Colin" I declared "Okay? I took so long to accept it, and I'm sorry"

"Why did you take so long to accept it?" Colin demanded "Do I repulse you that much?"

"No!" I persisted "It's just not easy to admit that you are different"

"I think you are overreacting" Cedric interrupted "Everything is okay"

"How the hell can you say that?" I countered "I want to be with Colin, but I'm not, and you are!"

"That's not Cedric fault" Colin defended "You didn't show any interest in me, so I moved on"

"I... I just" I mumbled "Forget it"

I backed away before turning around to run off. I couldn't believe that I had humiliated myself like that. Now Colin had seen that side of me, he probably realised that it would be a mistake to have been with me.

I reached the common room, and could feel tears falling down my face. I opened the door and saw Ron and Hermione, who were looking happy until they saw me. I wish whenever I entered a room, people would keep smiling.

"Harry?" Hermione began "What's wrong?"

"I... I..." I sobbed "I've been so stupid"

"Mate, this is painful" Ron observed "Tell me what is going on"

"I don't want to talk" I mumbled "I need to be alone"

Before they could say anything, I made my way up to my bed. I sat down, putting on my invisibility cloak so that no one could see me. My eyes hurt with the sting of tears, and now all I could think about was how I missed a big opportunity.


	2. DISCONTINUED

I've made the difficult decision to discontinue this book.

I was looking to collaborate on this work, but the 4 different potential co-creators I've been talking to are no longer interested.

As I have no motivation with this story, I'm not going to work on it any further.

I apologise to everyone who enjoyed reading it, thank you for your support.


	3. NO LONGER DISCONTINUED

I feel I owe it to those who started reading this book to finish it.

Updates may be slow, but I am going to try and complete it.


	4. Looking For An Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry finds himself with Colin alone without Cedric, and hopes to find out what happened.

As I woke up the next morning, I felt more depressed than ever. Colin really wasn't interested in me anymore, and I could not forgive myself for allowing my chance to be missed. Cedric made him so happy, and that made me feel so sad, as my mind was telling me, I should be holding Colin's hand.

I got up and walked down to the common room, but there wasn't a single student present which in all honesty was a good thing because I really didn't want to talk at that moment. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but staying in one place wasn't an option.

As I went down to the main entrance, I wanted to get some fresh air, so I went out of the door and felt the cool breeze on my skin. It was light and refreshing, whilst also managing to relax me and momentarily make me forget about the entire situation.

I took my time walking across the wooden bridge, as it was nice and quiet and I allowed myself to let my mind clear fully. I couldn't help but hum a little tune to myself, giving me an excuse to walk with a little bit more swagger.

As I reached the end of the bridge, I came crashing back into the sad reality that was my life, as I saw Colin with Cedric once more. I tried to ignore them, until I saw Ron and Hermione were standing next to them, and then my interest grew. I hid behind a big pillar, and hoped they wouldn't see me as I listened.

"We need to talk to Colin alone" Hermione explained.

"Anything you talk to him about, you can talk to me about too" Cedric argued.

"Are you going to move, or do I have to make you?" Ron threatened.

"It's okay Cedric, I can handle this" Colin assured.

I could see the anger in Cedric's eyes as he looked at Ron and Hermione, and the fact that Colin pushed him away when Cedric attempted to give him a kiss was pleasant for me to see. I hid a bit more carefully as Cedric walked by, not wanting him to see me watching on. At that point I remembered my invisibility cloak, which I quickly wrapped around myself.

Then my focus returned to Hermione and Ron. I had no idea what they were planning to do, but seeing them back Colin into a corner drew my full attention. My eyes kept firmly looking at Colin, as I couldn't stop staring at his adorable face.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" Colin wondered.

"Because our friend is hurting and we can't stand it" Ron replied.

"You're talking about Harry, I presume?" Colin questioned.

"Yes we are, and seeing him so sad is difficult for us" Hermione stated "Do you think you could at least talk to him?"

My nerves began to set in, not sure if I was ready to talk to Colin about anything after our argument yesterday. It was nice to know that my friends really were supporting me though, so I tried to convince myself that I should say something to him.

"What would that achieve?" Colin sighed "I'm happy and I don't want to raise his hopes"

"It's not about that" Hermione insisted.

"Then what is it about?" Colin reacted.

"Just clear the air with him" Ron instructed "You at least owe him that"

"Okay, fine" Colin agreed.

"Good, now he's up in the common room" Hermione rejoined "So go and find him"

Quicker than I've ever moved in my life, I returned to the common room, still draped in my invisibility cloak. I managed to use a shortcut to get to the common room a few minutes before Colin did. I knew I'd have to be careful in order to not reveal the fact that I knew he was going to talk to me.

When Colin arrived, I feigned surprise, and looked at him with no obvious expression on my face. He gently smiled at me, which sent a shiver up my spine, before he sat down next to me. I didn't know what to say, but I didn't need to talk to start with, as Colin took the initiative.

"We need to talk" Colin began "I know you probably don't want to speak, but I don't want you to be in pain"

"What do you want to talk about?" I reacted "Don't tell me how amazing Cedric is"

"I wasn't going to!" Colin insisted.

"So what then?" I pressed.

"Perhaps I was a little harsh yesterday" Colin replied "But I did like you, for the longest time"

"And I was silly for not seeing it" I rejoined "But don't worry it's all my fault"

"I'm sorry if you find Cedric and I overbearing" Colin continued "It's just... He makes me so happy and I love him very much"

"That's all that matters" I mumbled "You should do whatever makes you happy"

"Now that we've cleared that up" Colin uttered "You know I care about you very deeply, right?"

That was so random, and I felt like my heart skipped a beat. Then I calmed down, when I realised he was speaking on a purely platonic level. When I saw him, his face was kind and he was still smiling, but I wasn't about to make a fool of myself again.

"Really?" I said.

"Yes of course" Colin promised.

"Well, this was nice, but I have things to do" I lied.

"Okay, see you later then" Colin concluded.

I watched him stand up and go away once more, leaving me alone. I knew that this was down to me, but my feelings were still hurt and if I had let him continue, I would be causing more pain for my heart. My heart was telling me to try and fight for Colin, but my brain was reminding me that it would be a lost cause.


	5. A Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whist minding his own business, Harry finds himself in a difficult situation.

With Colin gone, I tried to think about what I wanted to do. I kept hearing his words in my head, repeating the fact that he cared about me very much. How could I miss this opportunity, and why couldn't I go back in time and change what had happened.

It was funny, because the more I heard those words, the less anxious I felt. I didn't want to stay in Gryffindor common room for the rest of the day, so I decided to distract myself by trying to go and practice some Quidditch. I usually did this to take my mind off of everything.

Walking through the corridors, I felt more confident and I wasn't even thinking about Colin or Cedric. They could do whatever they wanted frankly, because maybe this was a sign that I had to put things to rest, and move on to something, or rather someone new.

Just before I got to the changing room, I felt someone grab me by the arm, and shove me into one of the cubicles near where I would get into my gear. It made me gasp in anxiety, because whoever this was had strength I could only dream of. When they had finished manhandling me, I looked around and saw who it was. Standing in front of me, with the biggest frown on his face, was Cedric. He looked like he was going to hit me, but he started by punching me in the face.

"Potter!" Cedric boomed "What the hell did you say to Colin?!"

"I didn't really say anything much" I reacted "He did most of the talking"

"Well whatever happened, he told me that he was confused about how he felt" Cedric persisted.

That took my breath away, as to begin with, I thought I might have misheard him. Colin being confused about his feelings could mean that he liked me, but there was absolutely no guarantee or evidence to support that this was the case. Cedric didn't wait for me to answer, as once again, he punched me in the face, this time on my nose, which started to bleed from the blow. I didn't know that Cedric possessed this kind of anger or insecurity, but I suppose I should've expected it.

"Stop attacking me!" I pleaded "I really didn't do anything!"

"I don't care" Cedric spluttered "You better listen to this Potter, keep away from Colin"

"You can't stop me doing anything" I insisted.

With a final punch, I fell against the wall before falling to the ground, having been knocked a little bit senseless by what Cedric had done. He left me there, struggling to move and with no-one nearby to even help me. What had I done to deserve this treatment? I hated the way Cedric was acting but I didn't know what to do. It's not as if I could just go up to Colin and accuse his boyfriend of being horrible to me. He wouldn't believe any accusation, and then I would end up looking foolish.

Perhaps this was my hurry up to get a break from everything. Luck was not on my side presently, and having to go through this without anyone to support me felt like my heart was being ripped out. I wished Colin was here with me, bandaging up my wounds and making me feel better by telling me how much he cared. That was all irrelevant now, because I knew he wouldn't really love somebody who had as many issues as I did. It was so clear to me that there was only one thing left for me to do.


	6. Holding On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's depression starts getting the better of him, until someone tries to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SUICIDAL THOUGHTS.**

I remained outside, not wishing to talk to anyone once more and trying to keep as low a profile as possible. The sun had been hidden behind thick grey cloud, as the last shred of happiness was removed from my being, and I felt fresh tears falling down my face.

My life was becoming more and more worthless as luck had left me, Colin was trying to be civil but was being overruled by Cedric, who seemed to be very insecure about his life and his relationship with Colin. I can't think why, seeing how Colin is so loyal.

Then the rain started falling, and I became soaked within minutes. It was so heavy, and it made me feel so cold, and so weak. I didn't really know why I should continue my life of hell. I really didn't care that I was the chosen one. That meant nothing to me if I couldn't be happy when everything was done.

Knowing where a quiet space would be, a walked up the clock tower, and watched the giant pendulum swing from side to side. As the seconds ticked by, my feelings became stronger and stronger, to the point where I thought about what I could do to finish myself off. As no-one else was around, I felt like I could think out loud.

"What's the point?" I said "I try so hard and then miss opportunities. I do everything I can to look out for those who I care about, but did that really make any difference to anything? I could jump off of this rail, and no one would care would they?"

"I care about you, and Colin does too" A voice interrupted.

I turned around in surprise, not knowing that I was being watched, or that someone had even followed me here. They stood in the shadows, but as they moved closer, I saw that it was Dennis, Colin's younger brother, who was standing there.

"Dennis?" I posed "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you looking sad, Harry" Dennis reacted "I had to check you were okay"

"Thanks, but I don't really want to talk to anyone at the moment" I responded.

It wasn't that I didn't want to be around Dennis, as he was always nice to me, but he didn't need to hear anything else I had to say. I got up and began walking towards the stairs to be alone, when Dennis grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"You know, Colin really regrets giving up on you" Dennis stated.

"I don't think so" I countered.

"It's true" Dennis persisted "Trust me, he doesn't like the way Cedric treats him"

"I don't understand" I replied "I thought they loved each other"

"They do, but Cedric is very possessive" Dennis explained.

"That explains why he beat me up earlier" I observed.

Seeing my bruised face, Dennis grabbed me and walked to get a bandage from the hospital wing. On the way, people started to stare, but Dennis wasn't bothered about that. I meanwhile, did wonder what everyone thought. Just before we got to the hospital wing, I saw Colin and Cedric, who after kissing, looked over at us wide eyed. I wanted to leave quickly, but Colin walked over to see me.

"Harry?" Colin began "What happened?"

I knew that Cedric was going to deny everything, and the look on his face gave me chills. I decided to play it cool, and push away any suspicions that something was up. Looking back at Colin, I smiled and tried to keep my calm.

"I fell of my broom practising Quidditch" I lied.

"And Dennis, why are you holding Harry's hand?" Colin persisted.

That was a very important question for him to ask. I knew that it was because Dennis was taking me to get bandaged, but looking at the younger Creevey, I saw a frown on his face. He moved closer to me, and then did something unexpected.

"Harry asked me out!" Dennis beamed "I'm dating him!"

Before I could add anything, Dennis turned me to face him and crashed our lips together. I closed my eyes, thinking about what was happening, and then it was over. Dennis pulled away and leaned against me affectionately.

"Y-you two?" Colin stuttered.

"That's right bro!" Dennis beamed "See you later!"

Taking my hand once more, Dennis dragged me to the hospital wing. When we got there, it was deserted and I wanted answers. I didn't know what was going on, but there was definitely real feeling radiating from the kiss.

"Why did you do that?" I pressed.

"I had to make Colin realise he made a mistake" Dennis explained "I had to make him jealous"

"But why?" I responded "What would that do?"

"I want him to break up with Cedric, he's not nice and the sooner they split up the better" Dennis retorted.

"Is that all though?" I questioned "Seemed like you enjoyed the kiss"

"Well, I had an opportunity to try, and I did" Dennis continued "I apologise for forcing myself on you, but I wanted to kiss you, just to see what it was like"

That left me speechless, as Dennis bandaged my head and was really taking care of me. It was confusing, because no-one had ever made me feel so important, but he didn't really want to be with me, did he? Right now, I didn't know if I wanted to be with Colin, because I started getting interested in Dennis.


	7. Inner Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a big moment in Gryffindor common room and needs the help of Ron and Hermione.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **PLEASE NOTE: MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES ARE COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER.**

I walked back to Gryffindor common room on my own, hoping that nothing else would happen to make me feel weird. I didn't even really know if a relationship with Dennis was serious, and I wasn't sure how comfortable I was with rubbing it into Colin.

When I sat down in front of the fire, I tried to take a moment to think about everything that had happened over the last few days. There was absolutely nothing that made me feel happy in reality. Yes, Dennis had shown me affection that I had been craving, but I really wanted it from Colin.

I felt myself starting to sweat as I remembered what Cedric had said and done to me. I never knew that anyone, other than Voldemort, could be so vicious. My heart began to race, and I started to shake as I was plagued by anxiety.

My breathing was getting faster and I started to lose control, as my body was overcome with a feeling of stress and fear. At that moment, I became disoriented, wanting everything to stop as I went light headed and started to freak out about everything.

"Stop!" I screeched "I want this to stop!"

I stood up frantically, as I found myself shaking uncontrollably. My heart started to hurt, a mix of the anxiety that I was experiencing, and the fact that I had been thinking about Colin and Cedric. I looked in the mirror, seeing myself in a state I never realised I could get into.

My attention was gained by the door to the common room opening, and in the reflection, I saw Ron and Hermione enter happily, before rushing over to stand either side of me. Hermione, being the caring person and friend that she is, hugged me.

"Harry?" Hermione opened "What's wrong?"

"I... I..." I panted "I..."

"Come sit down mate" Ron instructed "Follow me"

With her arm still around me, Hermione walked with me and we followed Ron back to the chairs in front of the fire. As they looked at me, I saw them focus on my bruised face, but before doing anything else, Ron was talking softly to calm me down.

"I want you to take deep breaths Harry" Ron soothed "Very slow, deep breaths"

"We are here with you" Hermione added "You are okay, I promise"

Hearing their encouragement was a little bit lost as my brain couldn't absorb much of what they said, but I tried to calm down. Ron guided me by breathing slowly, and together we managed to get my breaths under control once more. They gave me a few moments of silence to remain calm once I was over my panic attack. I felt tears roll down my cheeks, but they didn't last long. As I was finally able to concentrate on what was happening, I gave both of them a hug as a token of my sincere gratitude.

"What happened?" Hermione posed.

"I've... had a bad day" I sighed.

"Do yo want to talk about it?" Ron wondered.

In reality, I was conflicted in answering that question, but as Ron and Hermione were my very best friends, I felt that it would be a good thing to confide in them again, knowing that they had always been there for me. As I told them, they looked shocked. I explained how Cedric punched my face, and how Dennis had kissed me.

"Cedric did this to you?" Hermione pressed.

"Yes, he warned me" I mumbled.

"And Dennis kissed you?" Ron reacted.

"He did, in order to make Colin jealous" I replied.

"And was Colin jealous?" Ron persisted.

"He looked confused" I said "But I didn't really get to look at his face as we left soon afterwards"

"Perhaps Dennis was right" Hermione observed "Maybe Colin still loves you"

"But it's complicated" I argued "Because now Dennis kissed me, and I sort of, liked it"

There was silence once again as my friends took in all of the information I had just given them. They looked as if they were just as confused as I was, which didn't exactly fill me with confidence. All I really wanted was for someone to tell me, that everything was going to be okay.


	8. How Do You Really Feel?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry confronts Dennis about what happened.

I didn't know where my loyalties were, as Dennis would be easier to go out with, but Colin still gave me butterflies in his stomach, despite the fact that Colin was still with Cedric. Even after the warning Cedric gave me, my feelings for Colin were so apparent.

I wanted to start sorting myself out, knowing that I would go crazy if there was any further developments that would prevent my happiness. There was only one person that I wanted to talk to at that moment in time, and that was Dennis.

I didn't have to look much to find him, as he was sat down in the great hall. As I approached him, Dennis' face lit up so despite his statement that he had only wanted to kiss me to see what it would be like, I knew that he was actually interested in me.

"Hey, Dennis I need to talk to you" I opened.

"Is something wrong?" Dennis reacted.

"No, I don't think so" I responded.

"Harry if I've upset you---" Dennis persisted.

"Just listen to me will you?" I requested.

"Okay what do you want to say?" Dennis wondered.

I could see the worry on his face, and that showed me that he cared. Everyone around us was making so much noise that I could talk to Dennis without anyone overhearing our conversation. This made me feel comfortable talking to him.

"I quite liked the kiss" I revealed "It confused me, but I did like it"

"Thank you" Dennis rejoined "I liked it too"

"More to the point, I think I would like to try dating you" I continued.

"Well that would be amazing, but what about Colin?" Dennis replied.

"I want to let my feelings for him go, for now at least" I sighed "I think he and Cedric are going to stay together"

"So does that mean you will dump me, if they break up?" Dennis posed "Because that would hurt"

"It depends how our relationship goes" I explained "If my heart tells me I like you more, then Colin will just have to deal with it"

"Okay, in that case" Dennis giggled "I would like to try going out with you too"

Dennis grabbed my hand and we walked out of the great hall together. No one was paying attention to us, so we weren't questioned or ridiculed for doing it. The moment we were out the main door, Dennis kissed me again, only this time, I kissed back happily.

Then, in the corner of my eye, I saw Colin looking at us. I tried to focus on him, but I saw his shoulders shuddering, and it looked like there was a truly pained expression on his face. My internal conflict continued, as now Colin was making me feel guilty.


	9. What Happened?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has to find out more about Colin's tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING: SELF HARM AND IMPLIED ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP IN THIS CHAPTER.**

It was almost as if fate really hated me at this point. No sooner had I agreed to have a serious relationship with Dennis, then Colin cries as he looks at us. I thought that the tears that rolled so freely down his cheeks were due to the fact that I was dating his brother, and he saw us kissing.

Colin was still important to me, even if he was now in second place to Dennis. When Colin walked away, I stared at Dennis, not knowing what I felt about what was happening. When Dennis saw Colin, I could see there was a pain on his face, and I knew that this was going to be really difficult for me to find a solution to.

"Look, I loved this, but I don't want to cause actual pain to Colin" Dennis sighed "He is my brother"

"But what do I do?" I reacted "Whenever I think about him, I remember what Cedric did to me"

"I think we need to find out what is going on" Dennis suggested.

"You mean it isn't obvious?" I wondered.

"Perhaps something happened that prompted the tears before he saw us?" Dennis reasoned "There was nothing to say that we caused it"

"I don't think that the fact he cried when we kissed was pure coincidence" I explained "There is only one logical reason"

"There's only one way to find out, and you know what I'm referring to" Dennis stated.

"Let's follow him, and try and get the air clear" I added.

I held Dennis' hand and we tried to find where Colin had gone. My anxiety was growing again, but having Dennis with me calmed my nerves. We walked quickly, and soon we heard the sobbing. It was coming from the boys bathroom, and so we slowly entered, not knowing what to expect.

As we got closer, we saw that there was blood on his arm. I rushed next to him, putting my arm around him almost immediately. Colin forcefully pushed me away, let out a wail of pain as his arm brushed against my body. There was nothing that I could say in that moment, but Dennis tried to calm Colin down.

"Colin, what is going on?" Dennis began "Why is your arm bleeding?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Colin snapped "Go away, I don't want to talk to you!"

"Show me your arm!" Dennis demanded.

"Get back!" Colin ordered.

There was a scuffle between the brothers, before Dennis managed to overpower Colin. Whilst sat on top of his brother, Dennis grabbed Colin's hand and rolled up the bloodied sleeve of his shirt, revealing several cuts, which completely shocked me.

"C-Colin" I stuttered "Wha-what have you done?"

"I..." Colin whispered "He beats me"

"What?" Dennis responded.

"Cedric... He's been beating me" Colin explained "He's made my life hell, and cutting myself... Made the pain feel better"

That was when Colin broke down again, sitting against the wall with his head leaning on his hands. Dennis and I sat down either side of him, as he cried loudly. I put an arm around him, carefully so as not to hurt his wounds, whereas Dennis snuggled unashamedly into him.

"He hurt me too you know" I stated "He warned me to stay away, he punched me, and that's where my bruises came from"

"I'm sorry" Colin whispered "I didn't realise how horrible he was"

"It's not your fault" I soothed.

"It is, because I only went out with him because I couldn't go out with you" Colin revealed.

"That makes sense" Dennis commented "But no one attacks my brother and gets away with it"

"Aren't I supposed to be protective of you?" Colin countered "I'm the big brother"

"That's not important" Dennis insisted "And you know it"

As there was a silence between us, the guilt that came over me was overwhelming. I didn't even know what to say as the reality of what happened to Colin sunk in. I wanted to know more about how he felt, but this wasn't the time for small talk, so we just sat down, close together, whilst Dennis tried to think about a plan.


	10. No More Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Dennis is thinking of a plan, he and the others find out something that saves him the trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER.**

I hadn't felt this close to Colin in a good while, in fact we had never been this close before. I hoped that the rough time he was going through would come to an end. He was such a kind person and really didn't deserve what he was going through.

We stood up and left the boy's bathroom, as we knew it would soon be time to return to our common room. As we walked, I noticed the way that Dennis was thinking about something. I was in the middle, with one arm around Colin and the other around Dennis.

Without thinking about anything, I pulled Colin closer to my frame, hugging him tighter and listening to the way his breath became much steadier. It was so tempting to kiss him, but then I remembered that I was going out with Dennis, so I managed to control myself.

Just as we walked towards the stairs, I noticed that there was a big fuss being made outside. I had no idea what was going on, but my curiosity was just as strong as it had always been. I stopped the Creevey brothers, as I had to know what was happening.

"Lets check this out" I suggested "The whole school appears to be going towards the wooden bridge"

"I guess that could be okay" Dennis stated "At least no one would notice that we were going to be late"

"Come on then" Colin said "We should get a move on, looks like we're the only ones not there"

As we got closer to the scene, it was clear that something was very wrong. Everyone seemed to be shocked, and without concentrating, I accidentally bumped into someone. I looked up and saw that I had just run into Professor Snape.

"Potter!" Professor Snape snapped "Where have you been?"

"Just been taking it easy Professor" I reacted.

"Well, whilst you have been taking it easy" Professor Snape responded "One of the students jumped from the wooden bridge and plunged into the valley below"

His words to the breath from my body, I really couldn't believe what I had heard. I held Colin and Dennis closer to me, pulling them into my protective grip. I didn't know what to say, or what to do, but somehow, I found the words.

"W-who was it?" I stuttered.

"It was---" Professor Snape began.

"Potter, come with me" Professor McGonnagall interjected "And you two, come as well"

Still not aware of who was the casualty, I duly followed Professor McGonnagall with Colin and Dennis in tow. We looked at each other in confusion, as we weren't sure what it would have to do with any of us. When we were in a secluded area, we found out what happened.

"The student who jumped of the bridge was killed" Professor McGonnagall explained.

"And who was it?" Dennis reacted.

"I'm sorry to say, it was Cedric Diggory" Professor McGonnagall revealed.

The silence that surrounded us made the atmosphere even more tense. The first thing I did was look at Colin, who was very quiet and looking at the ground. I put my arm back around him, hoping that whatever he thought would come out.

"I'll leave you to it" Professor McGonnagall said "We know that you were with him Colin"

"Do you know why he jumped, Professor?" I questioned.

"He said that he was sick of everything" Professor McGonnagall explained "And that he hated everyone"

As she left, I was feeling as if I was dreaming, or rather was in a nightmare. Everything had happened so quickly, and after what Cedric did to both Colin and I, there was a part of me that didn't feel sad, but a bigger part of me felt guilty.

"Are you okay? I wondered.

"I'm fine, I think" Colin sighed "Is it bad, that I feel, relieved?"

"No, not at all" Dennis rejoined "It's not as if he was nice to you"

"I'll be honest, I'm mixed about it" I explained "He was okay to begin with, but then you went with him and things changed"

"Are you saying, this is my fault?" Colin responded.

"No way, if anything I'm to blame" I mumbled "I was the one who rejected your affection and I regret it"

"I think we all played a part in it" Dennis retorted.

Then, Colin started sobbing again, prompting both Dennis and I to wrap our arms back around him lovingly. I rubbed his back, whilst Dennis snuggled up to him. I wasn't surprised when Colin's arms wrapped tightly around his brother, and not me.

"I want you both to make a promise" I said.

"What is it?" Dennis posed.

"Whatever happens, we will all stick together" I responded.

"That goes without saying" Dennis retorted.

"I promise, we will all be together forever" Colin pledged.

I kissed Dennis on the lips, but then stopped as I thought it would annoy Colin. After a few moments, Colin smiled and pushed Dennis and I together, connecting our lips once more. When we had finished, I looked at Colin and wanted to give him the same.

"It's okay" Dennis assured "You know what he wants, and I know you want to do it too"

With that encouragement, I grabbed Colin and slowly moved our heads together. Our lips moved lovingly against each other, as we snogged for a good minute before parting. Colin looked at me wide eyed, but I smiled.

"That was so good" Colin panted.

"As I said, we will all stick together" I declared.

Wrapping an arm around both of them, we walked off and went back to the common room. They were still a bit shocked about the news, but in these uncertain times, I knew that it was my duty to look after them, and that filled me with a purpose.

**Author's Note:**

> The End.
> 
> Thank you for reading.


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